In Q1 2022–23, SIA Group airlines and low-cost affiliate Scoot transported 5.1 million passengers. This figure represents an increase of 158.2% from the previous quarter when Singapore had imposed travel restrictions.
Because the island nation has been welcoming vaccinated visitors since April, according to SIA Group, “forward sales are expected to remain strong for the following three months, until October 2022.”
For the months of April through June (Q1 2022/23), SIA Group, of which flag carrier Singapore Airlines is but one company, reported a record first-quarter profit of S$556 million ($402 million). Singapore’s financial year, in contrast to American businesses, begins on April 1 and concludes on March 31.
The SIA Group’s performance is the best in the first quarter and is the second-largest quarterly profit in company history. Only 61 percent of pre-pandemic capability was used to get these remarkable results.
According to SIA Group, Singapore Airlines operated a fleet of 127 passenger planes and seven freighters by the end of Q1 2022–2023.
Along with the airline’s three Boeing 737-8 aircraft it had acquired in the fiscal year 2021–2022, one of the two Airbus A350-900s that had just been delivered went into service during the quarter. The fleet of the SIA Group was now operated by Scoot and had a combined average age of six years and three months.
Given that there is no domestic market to serve, the pandemic impacted the airlines of the SIA Group particularly hard. International travel restrictions and the nation’s stringent admission criteria have hampered an earlier comeback.
Restrictions in portions of East Asia still prevent the Group from fully restarting several important markets and restoring previous connectivity from these areas to Europe. Even so, the organization was able to resume services in the quarter to South East Asian cities like Cebu, Davao, Hat Yai, Kota Kinabalu, and Medan.
A total of 98 destinations in 36 countries and territories were served by the passenger airlines of the SIA Group at the end of the reporting quarter, while 107 destinations were served by the cargo network.
The research states that the SIA Group’s pre-pandemic network included “137 destinations in 37 countries and territories, including Singapore,” and it is anticipated that by the end of 2022, the Group’s airlines will operate at 76 percent of pre-pandemic capacity.
As more nations loosen or do away with travel restrictions during the Northern Winter operating season (30 October 2022 to 25 March 2023) the Group will be looking to take advantage of the increasing passenger demand.
Singapore Airlines intends to add more flights to Los Angeles and Paris, as well as expand its services to Japan and India, where it had a pre-pandemic network. Additionally, Scoot intends to increase capacity in already-existing locations like Manila, Seoul, and Bangkok as well as expand Japanese services with non-stop flights to Tokyo-Narita and Osaka.
